More delays on chiller, air handler

“I don’t know where to start,” began superintendent Jeremy Erler as he presented an update regarding construction projects still underway at JWPl.

At their September 19 meeting, school board members learned that contractors are struggling to meet the deadlines set when they took on various projects. Two particularly significant upgrades have come to a standstill. The most urgent is installation of an air handler which will  moderate temperatures in the high school gym. The unit was supposed to ship the Thursday before the school board meeting, but was rescheduled to the Thursday after.

“I’m getting concerned about it,” Erler said. “It will take a week to hook up and finalize once we get it here, and it’s starting to get cold. With high school activities going on, we’re figuring on two weeks to get it done.”

Delivery of an air chiller which had first been delayed to September 22 was delayed again to November 14. Erler said that hiccup was “not a big deal,” since a temporary unit is in place and the need for a chiller is decreasing as weather grows colder. “The temporary unit will stay until it’s no longer necessary,” he added.

Another construction item was the school’s weight room, which Erler claimed would be a 10- to 12-week project. “The old rubber [flooring] in the room has been taken out. The new rubber is in a warehouse waiting to be installed.” The school district expects new weight room equipment to be available for use after the winter break .

Other topics in Erler’s report included updates to the staff seniority list, the possibility of block scheduling (which Erler claimed has been a “hot topic” in the district for years), and changes to advisory and club times.

Student Report

Senior student council representative Zach Groh reported that student leadership is “getting things in gear” for homecoming week in mid-October.

“Homecoming is later this year, so we’re going through plans for that,” Groh announced. “The football game is on a Thursday instead of Friday, so that’s new for us. Volleyball’s homecoming game will be on Friday this year.”

During his report, board member Tim Oelke inquired about school lunches. “Have you heard anything negative from students about them?” he asked Groh. “My daughter and her friends said it took a long time getting through the line and the cooks were running out of food by the time they got to the kitchen. She also mentioned all they had for milk was skim.”

Groh reported the only issues at lunch were some disturbances and student behavior problems.

The topic was brought up again later in the meeting when concerns were raised about some students being charged for an extra entree after getting sent back to get their required lunch arose. School Business Manager Matt Moline says that he hopes to meet with Taher Foods soon to discuss the issues. “We have lots to talk to them about,” he claimed.

Other Business

The remainder of the meeting was mostly routine, with the school board approving several items. The first item was the approval of the internet and technology acceptable/responsible use and safety policy. The board also gave the thumbs up on the the Special Education Purchase of Service Agreement with the Waseca School with a change to correct the term of the agreement to the 2022-2023 school year.

Other items approved were a business agreement and memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Counseling Services of Southern Minnesota, a notice of general election, and the certification of maximum preliminary levy authority.

School Board Chair Laura Seys closed the session at 6:11 p.m. to evaluate the performance of Superintendent Erler. After reopening the meeting, the school board adjourned at 6:47 p.m.